


I'll Paint You By Numbers

by orphan_account



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Pining, Requited Love, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Unrequited Love, lots of numbers, numbers, ticket taker Harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-03
Updated: 2014-10-03
Packaged: 2018-02-19 17:52:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2397425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry has had a truly horrendous crush for exactly one hundred and five days.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Paint You By Numbers

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from Ed Sheeran's "Lego House".
> 
> This is obviously a work of fiction.A secret work of fiction, unknown by the boys in question. It should stay that way.  
> I mean, not that I'm so full of myself that I think it would be shared but it's a disclaimer so. I'm just sayin'.

Harry has had a truly horrendous crush for exactly one hundred and five days.  It sucks. He hates it. Because the boy Harry’s got said crush on, Louis (Harry’s known his name for 74 days), has virtually no knowledge of his existence. Nevermind that Harry is the ticket-taker he’s handed his ticket to at the movie theater for the past 15 Saturdays in a row and 4 scattered Sundays.  Nevermind that Harry has directed him each and every time to the correct theater even when he was seeing the same movie a second time around. Nevermind that Harry can’t stop seeing Louis even when he closes his eyes. Louis has never _seen_ Harry.  Because Louis’ eyes never leave the guy that’s always by his side, that’s always holding his hand, that’s always making him laugh like Harry wishes he could do.

The boy Harry’s crushing on is obviously already in love.

Harry always did have a terrible sense of timing.

 

~@~

 

Harry has had a truly horrendous crush for exactly one hundred and ninety-six days. It sucks. He hates it.

The boy he’s crushing on still has no knowledge of his existence. He still doesn’t see Harry. But the reason has changed.  Louis still comes to the theater faithfully every Saturday (but no Sundays lately) and Harry still takes his ticket, still directs him to the correct theater but Louis goes it alone. He doesn’t look at anyone, mostly stares blankly ahead or sadly at his feet as he walks.

He’s been coming to the movies alone for the past six Saturdays. Sometimes his eyes will be red and puffy when he arrives and Harry still thinks he’s never seen anyone more beautiful. Harry’s heart breaks for Louis, for both of them really because they both apparently want someone who is not an option just now. It’s like Louis is waiting for something.

That’s what Harry thinks hurts him the most.

Harry knows what it’s like to be stuck _waiting_.

 

~@~

 

Harry has been truly, horrendously in love for 28 days. It sucks. But he doesn’t hate it.

One day as Louis handed Harry his ticket, he’d taken a long look at the boy with outstretched hands and asked, “are you here _every_ weekend?”

Harry had barely held his responding grin in check, so happy he was to _finally_ be noticed.

“Yeah. Have to save up for uni somehow,” he’d answered with a shrug. “I work at a bakery Monday through Thursday as well.”

Louis had grinned and answered, “Does that mean, if I suck up to you, you can get me free pastries?”

Harry had been a goner. And subsequent Saturdays, Louis has only gotten friendlier.

So now they’re friends. It’s a _thing_. Louis knows that Harry exists, even seems to _like_ that he does. And Harry’s crush is so much worse than a crush.

He likes the feeling Louis causes in his stomach.

He just wishes he had the ability to work the same magic.

 

~@~

 

Harry has been totally, completely, ass-backwards in love for 70 days. With his best friend. Louis Tomlinson. Who he doesn’t only see on Saturdays and the occasional Sunday anymore. Louis sees him at least five days a week now because the two of them have become pretty much inseparable.  It really doesn’t suck all that much except when Harry gets the urge to kiss the other boy, which is only about every 10 minutes or so, and Harry’s been wanting to kiss Louis for 266 days so he’s pretty used to having to hold himself back.

Honestly, Harry would rather be Louis’ best friend and not get to kiss him than be an anonymous ticket-taker at the movies who doesn’t even get to know this amazing person at all. Being best friends with Louis is fun and silly and incredible and Harry sort of really loves it.

Even if it’s all he ever gets to be.

Harry will take it.

 

~@~

 

Louis Tomlinson has been best friends with Harry Styles for 495 days when Harry finally kisses him.

 

~@~

Louis has been absolutely, unbearably in love for 372 days. He’s been hoping Harry would kiss him for 494 days. And today he got his wish. Because today is Louis’ birthday and he may have shamelessly used the fact that it’s Christmas Eve and some mistletoe to make sure that his birthday wish would come true this year.

 

~@~

 

Harry Styles has had a boyfriend for one day. They’ve already shared 17 kisses. And Harry just knows that this is it.

Harry has been truly, horrendously, totally, completely, ass-backwards, absolutely, unbearably in love for 720 days. And counting.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah. I don't know where that came from.


End file.
